Bank of England's Catherine Mann on Inflation

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Bank of England interest rate-setter Catherine Mann welcomed a recent decline in inflation in Britain but emphasized that there is still "a long way to go" before the central bank meets its 2% inflation target over the medium term.

"Our headline price print … was lower than projected in the August Monetary Policy Report. Services, which, of course, we have looked at very carefully for persistence, came in under 5% for the first time in a very, very long time," Mann stated.

"A little bit of a concern, goods prices are a little bit higher. In order to get to a target consistent (with a) 2% inflation rate, services still have a long way to go," she noted during a panel discussion at the International Monetary Fund meetings in Washington.

Mann previously voted against the BoE's quarter-point cut to borrowing costs in August. When questioned about her current views on rates, Mann remarked: "If you have structural persistence in the relationship between wages and price formation that lasts, that is persistent and embedded, then it's premature to start cutting until you purge those behaviours."

Investors estimate an approximate 88% chance of another 25 basis-point rate cut by the BoE in its upcoming November meeting.